Top-25 College Basketball Game Capsules

Lexington, KY (SportsNetwork.com) – Kentucky did the expected and completed an undefeated regular season by downing Florida 67-50 on Saturday in front of the Rupp Arena faithful. The Wildcats’ run to perfection has been somewhat predictable but nevertheless impressive. All but six of their 18 conference wins came by double digits, and they head into the SEC Tournament as the first program from a power conference to complete an unbeaten regular season since Indiana in 1975-76. Karl-Anthony Towns was a force at both ends, totaling 13 points, nine rebounds and six blocks, while Trey Lyles added 14 points for the Wildcats (31-0, 18-0 SEC), who forced 17 turnovers and led the entire second half. Kasey Hill and Dorian Finney-Smith led the Gators (15-16, 8-10) with 15 and 12 points, respectively.

Final Score: (16) Louisville 59, (2) Virginia 57

Louisville, KY (SportsNetwork.com) – On Senior Night, Louisville honored Wayne Blackshear and junior Montrezl Harrell, who is expected to declare for the NBA Draft. When the 16th-ranked Cardinals needed a basket with seconds remaining, however, it was little-used sophomore Mangok Mathiang lifting Louisville to a 59-57 win over No. 2 Virginia. The Cavaliers took a 57-56 lead with 13 seconds remaining on a contested 3-pointer by Malcolm Brogdon. Out of a timeout at the other end, Mathiang took his first shot of the game, a jumper from the foul line that handed Virginia just its second loss of the season. Harrell led the Cardinals (24-7, 12-6 ACC) with 20 points and 12 rebounds while Terry Rozier and Quentin Snider each added 11 points. Brogdon paced Virginia (28-2, 16-2) with 17 points and Darion Atkins added 10 points and seven boards.

Final Score: (3) Duke 84, (19) North Carolina 77

Chapel Hill, NC (SportsNetwork.com) – Duke didn’t need overtime to complete a regular-season sweep of North Carolina on Saturday. Tyus Jones scored a career-high 24 points, and the third-ranked Blue Devils posted an 84-77 victory over the No. 19 Tar Heels. Jones added seven assists, six rebounds and three steals for Duke (28-3, 15-3 ACC), which got 20 points from Quinn Cook and 14 from Jahlil Okafor. The Blue Devils will head into the ACC Tournament on an 11-game winning streak. Marcus Paige hit five 3-pointers and finished with 23 points to lead the Tar Heels (21-10, 11-7), who have lost five of the last six meetings against their greatest rivals.

Final Score: (4) Villanova 105, St. John’s 68

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – Daniel Ochefu scored 21 points with nine rebounds and five blocks to help No. 4 Villanova surge past St. John’s, 105-68, at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday afternoon. JayVaughn Pinkston netted 18 points with six boards and Dylan Ennis chipped in with 17 for the Wildcats (29-2, 16-2 Big East), who closed their regular season with 12 straight wins. Villanova enters the Big East Tournament as the No. 1 seed, while St. John’s will be seeded fifth. Rysheed Jordan led the Red Storm (21-10, 10-8) with 21 points and Phil Greene IV notched 16 points in the setback.

Final Score: (5) Arizona 91, Stanford 69

Tucson, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) – Brandon Ashley finished with 15 points and nine rebounds as No. 5 Arizona closed out the regular season with a 91-69 wire-to-wire victory over Stanford on Saturday. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 14 points and seven boards, Gabe York and Kaleb Tarczewski each scored 13 and T.J. McConnell netted 10 with 11 assists for the Wildcats (28-3, 16-2 Pac-12), who clinched the outright conference title on Thursday and ended the regular season with eight consecutive wins. Chasson Randle had 16 points, while Stefan Nastic and Anthony Brown each scored 14 for Stanford (18-12, 9-9), which will enter the Pac-12 tournament as the sixth seed.

Final Score: (7) Gonzaga 81, San Francisco 72

Las Vegas, NV (SportsNetwork.com) – Przemek Karnowski scored 24 points to lead No. 7 Gonzaga in an 81-72 win over San Francisco in the quarterfinals of the West Coast Conference Tournament. Kyle Wiltjer had 19 points and eight rebounds while Kevin Pangos and Kyle Dranginis each gave 10 for the Bulldogs (30-2), who advanced to take on Pepperdine on Monday. Tim Derksen had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Mark Tollefsen added 21 points and eight rebounds for the Dons (14-18), who had defeated Pacific on Friday in the opening round.

Final Score: Illinois State 65, (8) Wichita State 62

St. Louis, MO (SportsNetwork.com) – Daishon Knight’s 25 points and a huge second half enabled Illinois State to pull off an absolute shocker in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, as the Redbirds knocked off eighth- ranked Wichita State 65-62 in Saturday’s first semifinal. Knight totaled 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting after halftime and was at the forefront of a game-changing 14-0 run that helped send the fourth-seeded Redbirds into the conference title game. The result also denied the league a blockbuster showdown between the Shockers and 11th-ranked Northern Iowa. Reggie Lynch added 11 points and seven rebounds in the sixth straight victory for Illinois State (21-11), which dealt the top-seeded and defending tournament champion Shockers only their second loss in their last 41 MVC games. Fred VanVleet tallied 19 points and seven rebounds for Wichita State (28-4), but his desperation 3-point attempt at the buzzer that would have forced overtime was off the mark.

Final Score: (15) Oklahoma 75, (9) Kansas 73

Norman, OK (SportsNetwork.com) – Buddy Hield’s bucket, the last of his team- high 18 points, came with one second left in regulation and lifted No. 15 Oklahoma to a 75-73 decision over No. 9 Kansas in the regular-season finale for both programs. Isaiah Cousins posted 16 points and four assists for the Sooners (21-9, 12-6 Big 12), while Tashawn Thomas added 13 points. Frank Mason poured in a game-best 21 points for the Jayhawks (24-7, 13-5). Landen Lucas totaled 13 points and 12 rebounds, with Jamari Traylor and Kelly Oubre totaling 12 apiece.

Final Score: (11) Northern Iowa 63, Loyola-Chicago 49

St. Louis, MO (SportsNetwork.com) – Seth Tuttle posted 13 points and six rebounds and No. 11 Northern Iowa earned a spot in the Missouri Valley Conference championship game with a 63-49 victory over Loyola-Chicago. Northern Iowa shot better than 51 percent from the field, had just seven turnovers and controlled the boards to reach its first MVC title game since 2010. Northern Iowa (29-3) will take on fourth-seeded Illinois State for the conference crown after the Redbirds stunned Wichita State 65-62 earlier on Saturday. Marvin Singleton and Jeremy Morgan added 11 points each for the Panthers, with Singleton grabbing a game-high seven rebounds. Montel James paced Loyola (19-13) with 14 points and Milton Doyle had 11 for the sixth-seeded Ramblers, who were fresh off a win over No. 3 Indiana State in Friday’s quarters.

Final Score: (12) Notre Dame 81, Clemson 67

South Bend, IN (SportsNetwork.com) – Jerian Grant put on one final show at Purcell Pavilion, as the star senior poured in 19 points and handed out eight assists as No. 12 Notre Dame topped Clemson 81-67 on Saturday. Grant received a standing ovation in his final home game, the fans recognizing his importance to a Notre Dame (26-5, 14-4 ACC) squad that heads in the ACC Tournament next week as a No. 3 seed. Zach Auguste also scored 19 points, while Demetrius Jackson and Steve Vasturia added 14 and 12 points, respectively, for the victors. Jaron Blossomgame finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Landry Nnoko totaled 19 and nine for the Tigers (16-14, 8-10), who dropped four of their final five regular season games.

Final Score: Washington 77, (13) Utah 68

Seattle, WA (SportsNetwork.com) – Nigel Williams-Goss scored 28 points to lead Washington to a 77-68 upset of No. 13 Utah on Saturday. Williams-Goss scored 12 of his points in the final 5 1/2 minutes as the Huskies (16-14, 5-13 Pac-12) pulled away. Andrew Andrews added 16 points, while Mike Anderson scored 15 and made 3-of-3 attempts from 3-point range on Senior Day. Delon Wright led the Utes (23-7, 13-5) with 21 points. Jakob Poeltl scored 18 on 8- of-8 shooting.

Final Score: (17) Iowa State 89, TCU 76

Fort Worth, TX (SportsNetwork.com) – Monte Morris and Georges Niang each finished with 19 points and six assists to lift No. 17 Iowa State to an 89-76 win over TCU on Saturday. Bryce Dejean-Jones scored 15 points and Jameel McKay supplied 14 with 10 rebounds for the Cyclones (22-8, 12-6 Big 12), who ended the regular season with two straight wins and earned the second seed in the conference tournament. Kenrich Williams had 17 points, nine boards and seven assists, while Kyan Anderson scored 16 on 4- of-8 3-point shooting for the Horned Frogs (17-14, 4-14), who lost their third straight game.

Final Score: LSU 81, (18) Arkansas 78

Fayetteville, AR (SportsNetwork.com) – Keith Hornsby hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send LSU to an 81-78 win over No. 18 Arkansas on Saturday. Before Hornsby hit the winning shot, LSU’s Jarell Martin had a key block at the other end to keep the game tied. Josh Gray then penetrated and kicked out to Hornsby in the corner for the winning jumper. Martin led all scorers with 27 points for the Tigers (22-9, 11-7 SEC). Jalyn Patterson scored 20 while hitting six 3-pointers and Gray had 10 points and six assists. Bobby Portis led Arkansas (24-7, 13-5) with 21 points and 15 rebounds.

Final Score: (20) West Virginia 81, Oklahoma State 72

Morgantown, WV (SportsNetwork.com) – Devin Williams clocked in with 22 points and 13 rebounds, as No. 20 West Virginia closed out its regular season with an 81-72 triumph over Oklahoma State on Saturday. Daxter Miles Jr. added 15 points while Jaysean Paige and Nathan Adrian had nine each for the Mountaineers (23-8, 11-7 Big 12). Jeff Newberry’s game-best 23 points wasn’t enough for the Cowboys (18-12, 8-10). Anthony Hickey totaled 17 points and seven assists, with Phil Forte posting 13 points in defeat.

Final Score: (21) Butler 68, (24) Providence 64

Providence, RI (SportsNetwork.com) – Roosevelt Jones scored 16 points and Kellen Dunham added 15, as 21st-ranked Butler held off a furious Providence rally and held on for a 68-64 victory over the 24th-ranked Friars on Saturday at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. Kelan Martin chipped in 14 points for the Bulldogs (22-9, 12-6 Big East), who nearly blew a 16-point lead in the second half. Butler won for the third time in its last four games and will be the third seed in the upcoming Big East Tournament. Providence (21-10, 11-7) needed only a win Saturday to wrap up the second seed. Kris Dunn led the Friars with 23 points and Tyler Harris contributed 17 in defeat.

Final Score: Belmont 88, (25) Murray State 87

Nashville, TN (SportsNetwork.com) – Taylor Barnette’s three-pointer went through the net with 3.2 seconds remaining in regulation, giving Belmont a shocking 88-87 decision over No. 25 Murray State. Craig Bradshaw led the way with 25 points for the Bruins (22-10) won the Ohio Valley Conference for the second time in the last three seasons and became the first program to punch a ticket to the NCAA Tournament. Barnette ended up with nine points by going 3- of-8 from beyond the arc. T.J. Sapp’s 28 points wasn’t enough for the Racers (27-5), who saw their 25-game win streak come to a crashing halt. His three- point try at the buzzer was well short.

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball